Lao Lao...

Hello hello there, long time no hear and I admit the guilt...:-((( and do apologize sincerely!!!

So - Laos - officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
To get from Sapa (north of Vietnam) to Luang Prabang (north of Laos) it took Blondie three whole consecutive days in buses and/or minibuses....believe her or not, it was little fun!
* Day 1 - Sapa - Dien Bien Phu (35km from the border) the distance of 231km took 9 hours in a minibus....not only was it nightmarish 9 hours of a drive in a crazy bumpy dirt road - meaning that Blondie was suffering the never-ending bumps on the very back seat...but also a sweaty heat in the bus, as the dirt road means an overwhelming piles of dirt flying around so opening the windows is not an option...
However, moreover, the 9 hours Blondie endured sandwiched between a constantly kissing and hugging Australian couple and a lovely Vietnamese woman, who insisted on sleeping, putting most of her body weight on Blondie's side...now, the tricky thing was to actually move her as she would wake up...and, when she woke up she insisted on throwing up...:-) so poor little Blondie didn't really know whether it was better to have her sleeping or awake....well that was the first day...
* Day 2 - Dien Bien Phu - Muang Khua - maybe another 230km...(?) - another 10 hours...this time a chicken bus, but not too crowded. The journey started at 6:00 am, after 30 min drive we stopped for 30 min break...in the middle of nowhere, cause as it was explained - we had to wait for the border crossing to open...no comments, huh? Some 2km from the crossing we got off the bus and had to walk as the road was inaccessible! blocked by the pile of rocks that had to be cleared by the construction workers, but those guys would only start working at 11:00 am...









So we walked, and then had to wait another 2 hours for the bus to pass.....and so, finally we set off...but didn't get too far as soon after we stopped again as this time...there was no road at all!!! but, thank God, there were three diggers and some 10 workers, building the road!!! so we set there, in a burning heat, supplies of food and water running low, waiting for the road to be build for us!!! and so, some 4 hrs later...



voila - the road was there and we were on the go again!!! simple as it was!!!

* Day 3 - Muang Khua - Luang Prabang - big, empty chicken bus - 6 hrs drive - no interesting events on the way....you could say boring...well, Blondie was grateful for that!
So, not to ponder and elaborate too long on Loas - let's put it in short - Laos is a really nice country with pleasant, if not a bit reserved people, but if you want to visit it, do hurry up!!! the extend of deforestation and burning going on all over Loas is alarming! Wherever you go, you can see and smell freshly burned wood and huge areas of cut down forest! In few years time, there will be nothing left there...
And, it is a problem when Chinese build their dams and block the free flow of water in the Mekong river....the water levels in the Mekong is so low in Laos, at least at the moment - and the dry season is not helping, but it's mostly blamed at Chinese... - is so low that almost all river routes are closed as inaccessible. That's it for Blondie's Mekong cruising on a slow boat....buuu..
Luang Prabang - very pleasant little town, although as someone rightly described it - a bit like a museum...but the night market is wonderful for souvenirs and food! and the best fruit shakes in Laos!!!
Vang Vieng - tubing is shit - read very very slow and looked really boring - in the Mekong with almost no water, so Blondie decided to skip it and have just a swim...and if you enjoy the company of crowds of drunk, shouting teenagers then this is definitely the place for you!!! Blondie is too old of an ass for that so left after 2 days!
Ponsavan - Plain of Jars - there is absolutely nothing in the little one-street town of Ponsavan, but Blondie managed to meet with Ann, met earlier on in Luang Prabang, and Ben and Harry - UK lads met in the bus and all of them had a great nite sitting on the street and drinking Lao beer and Lao Lao (local killer whiskey) with the locals, who also played some local music on the guitar and a drum - impromptu made from a bucket and a plate....after it became too late for the noise they were making, the party moved to the local karaoke bar.....that was a blast!!!



Jars....well...it's always nice to see some more prehistoric stones...

Vientian - pleasant, if not very pretty city but sleep and dead as heaven on Saturday night (love this! as quoted Leonard Cohen here)
Then came some lone motorbike rides on the deserted roads around the Konglor Cave (central Laos) with stunning views and very dangerous dogs, chickens, piglets, goats and children running out to the road just as you drive past......and this is the very place where hundreds of thousands
of butterflies die each year in the motor accidents....the little beautiful but silly creatures always fly right at you!!! Blondie is guilty of murdering five....:-((((



And some more riding in Bolaven Plateau...and some lone swimming and reading and chilling the divine waterfalls...ahhhh....if only My Lion could have been there with Blondie....it would have been just perfect! but was pretty good anyway...
And, last but not least - Four Thousand Islands - Si Phan Don...well....this is the place where you do absolutely nothing and don't fell guilty about it cause there is nothing to do there!!! So your whole days are filled with eating, reading in a hammock, drinking fruit shakes and beer Lao, swimming in the Mekong and chatting to people.....the lazy heaven for few days.....highly recommended after months of stressful traveling!

And, from there it's just a little jump to Cambodia!!!